ISlfJ 



(JI.HANINCiS IN HHK CUI/rUKK. 



331 



[Hiitoliiiisoirs si'luMiu" of liaviiif; a snnill i)()r- 

 tniii of llif w ritci' at tlic hcaiiing of most of tin- 

 articles for the Rcvinr is a gooii oin'. ami siiirc 

 hf lias ilt)m' it so admicahly it will not Ixmu'ccs- 

 sary fof us to i>iiiit a S('|)arati' slicci fifiving a 

 sliort skctoli aiui portrait of sonn- of our con- 

 tributors: in fact. \V(> already have practically 

 that same iliintr in the last form of our A H (' 

 of Hi'c (.'ulturc — Vonr haml-cart will no doubt 

 be a iiood thins. The idea of haviiifx it tajr on 

 behiiui the waiion w hen uoinii to and from out- 

 apiaries is a good one. I 



PROPOLIS ON T TINS. 



now TO (T.K.\.\ rr oil- with conckntuatkd 



I.VK. 



When we commenci'd work in the shop, the; 

 tirsi super I lilled with tho nice clean sections, 

 1 looked at the T tins all covered with propolis 

 and thoiijihl to luyself. " If we ar(> to have sec- 

 tions unstained by piopolis it will never do to 

 put them on these" dirty T tins. J>ut, oh dear! 

 it will be an endless task to scrape them all. I 

 can never do it."* Just tluMi a happy thought 

 struck me. Why not boil the propolis oft' ? Sure 

 enough, why not? 



1 repaired to the kitchen, placed the wash- 

 boiler on the stove (ont^ we use for such work), 

 tilled it with water and T tins, then went back 

 to the shop to work, and left them to boil at 

 their own sweet will, delighted to think I had 

 such an inspiration. In about an hour I went 

 back to the kitchen to see how my T tins were 

 progressing. I fully expected to see thiMu all 

 nice and clean, and was most bitterly disap- 

 pointed to find that they looked even worse 

 than they did when 1 put them in. as the pro- 

 polis was more evenly distributed all over them. 



I ni-xt tried scrubbing them with a broom in 

 the boiling water, but it would not work. I 

 meditated awhile, then concluded I would try 

 concentrated lie. providing Dr. Miller did not 

 object. I did not know what effect the lye 

 would have on the tins. He said I might try it. 

 I put the boiler back on the stove to try once 

 more. I did not feel quite so sanguine as I pour- 

 ed in part of a can of concentrated lye. 



I did not leave it this time, but anxiously 

 watched to see what effect it would have. It 

 brought it off pretty well, but was not quite 

 strong enough. I put in the rest of the can of 

 lye. and. eurekal the propolis disappeared as if 

 by magic. I stirred the tins with the poker to 

 insure the lye reaching all parts of them; then 

 with the tongs I lifted them into a tub and 

 rinsed them off with cold water, and set thein 

 up in the sun to drain, as bright and clean as 

 when they came from the tinner's. 



I tilled up the boiler with T tins again, and so 

 on. until the strength of the lye was all used up. 

 when I turn<>d it out. tilled up the boiler afresh, 

 and began all over again, continuing until they 

 were all done. I used a can of lye to a boiler of 

 water. 



Every time I fill up a super with the nice 

 cleaii T tins I feel more than paid for the work 

 it took to make them sf). I am pretty sure that 

 washing-lluid would clean them almost if not 

 quite as well as the concentrated lye, providing 

 it were used strong enough, although I have 

 never tried it. However, I think I should pre- 

 fer the lye, as it does the work most thoroughly 

 and does not hurt the T tins in the least, that I 

 can see. 



If you have a lot of dirty T tins I advise you 

 to clean them in this way, and see if you are not 

 as delighted as I was to see them come out so 

 bright and clean. Be sure to use plenty of wa- 

 ter in rinsing them off. Emma Wilson. 



Marengo, III., April .5. 



THE BEE-MOTH. 



ITS IlAIilTS ; WIIK.N A.\n WIIKKK C()I'II,.\T|()N 

 TAKKS I'l.ACK. 



Mr. \V. ]{. Ransom, New lliver, Va., wisiies 

 me to answer the following questions tiirougii 

 (ii.KAMNus: If the l)ee-moth larva— the so- 

 called moth-worm — spins its cocoon inside of 

 the bee- hi v(^ and there issues from the cocoon 

 a female, can she lay eggs without coming out 

 and mating, or must she do as do the queens, 

 come foilh and mate? U the latter Ik; true, at 

 what age does she commence to lay? 



l''rom the conditional foi'in of the first sen- 

 tence we might conclude lliat it is unusual for 

 the moth-larva to spin its cocoon in the hive. 

 On the other hand, this is almost always just 

 wiu'ie tlie cocoon is spun and the pupa staU; 

 assumed. In accidental cas(>s the cocoon might 

 be spun outside. In nature, where man did not 

 interfere. 1 doubt whether the cocoons would 

 ever be; found outside the hive. Indeed, in our 

 northern climes it is imperative, often, to the 

 life of the insect, that the cocoons be formed 

 and the pupa stag(! passed in the hive. As the 

 late Mr. JNIoses Qulnby showed years ago. the 

 bee-moth, unless protected by the warmth of 

 the colony, often succumbs to our severe win- 

 ters. I have proved, liowever, that, in mild 

 winters, they may endure the exposure, even 

 unprotected by the warmtli gendered by the 

 bees. 



It is probable that the bee-moths always tiy 

 fortli to mate, as we usually see them during 

 the day concealed somewhere outside of though 

 by the hives. As many are reared on combs in 

 the honey- house, it is not uncommon to find 

 th<'m in this building. They are nocturnal — 

 that is. they fly by night, and. witliout doubt, 

 usually mate as they take these after-day 

 nuptial flights. It would be unsafe to say that 

 they never mati; in the hives. I iiave seen both 

 moths and butiei-flies in copula before the wings 

 of the female were dry so she could fly: though 

 usually the same species pair only on the wing. 

 So of this spei-ies — the bee-moth — while they 

 usually and peihaps always mate outside, it is 

 possible that copulation may occasionally occur 

 in the hive. 



The pairing usually takes place with all 

 moths very soon after the females fly: and. as I 

 have said. oft(m before her wings are so dried 

 that she can fly. I am sni'e that the bee-moth 

 is no exception. With all insects, the females 

 are able to '"bide their time." The queen may 

 await a pleasant day or the coming drone. 

 Moths that usually meet the males as soon as 

 they can fly, in case no males are present, may 

 wait for days. This is true, also, of the bee- 

 moth. She may wait nolens volens. for a 

 suitor must come before he can be accepted. 

 Egg-laying commences, often, the very next 

 day after pairing occurs: always very soon. 

 Agricultural College. Mich. A. J. Cook. 



FEEDERS. 



TIIP: TWO TH.\T I I'HEFEIJ : HOW TO .M.\KK. 



This spring a good many of my colonies are 

 short of stores. I have been experimenting on 

 feeders. Nothing in the price lists suited me. 

 I wanted to feed eai'ly inside of the hives, with- 

 out disturbing any honey-board or <iuilt. as I 

 do not like to break the sealing before warm 

 weather. Some of my hives have honey-boards 

 with a %iiich hole in them. Others have quilts 

 with dry sawdust packing on top. Now. my 

 feeders must be simple, cheap, adapted to feed 

 without removing covers; must kill no bees nor 

 waste feed. I hav(! two that fill the conditions. 



